In 1991 England expels Iraqi diplomats from their embassy stating that their presence was "not conducive to the public good". The UN demanded the Iraqi troops leave Kuwait by the 15th of January. This was ignored and consequently Operation Dessert Storm began on the night of the 16th of January 1991.
In 1980 Afghanistan’s new President Babrak Karmal makes his first public speech, defending the soviet troops in his country and accusing the US of ‘lies and provocation’. This comes a week after the USSR led a coup in Afghanistan that lead to a new front for the cold war. Both superpowers secretly provided arms to their associates in the country. Afghanistan was at war for nine years and 1 million dead.
In 1924 King Tut’s sarcophagus is opened.
In 1496 Leonardo da Vinci tests his flying machine. He designed many types of flying machines, not all of which were tested. This machine had a rotary system similar to helicopters but his rota was a cork screw design and was powered by four men pedalling. The machine failed to fly and instead the base which the men would sit on, turned in the opposite direction to the rota.
